SEQ CHAPTER h r 1cough seems how this is AU post season 4 anyway, pretend that Buffy and Giles had the "tramp" conversation minus Dawn, as she isn't here.
Many thanks to MrsDrake for beta-ing this for me.
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Buffy smiled politely as Grace showed her the photo's of the heirloom wedding dress. It was beautiful. The silk was cut perfectly and Buffy had to admit that she would probably look stunning in it. Which, of course, brought up one very large question that needed to be answered.
"So, you wanna tell me why you've gone from hating me to offering me the family wedding dress? Not that I mind, but it seems like a pretty quick turnaround," Buffy said as she sipped her tea.
Grace sighed. "If it eases your fear any, it has nothing to do with you. I can't say that I like you anymore than when I first met you, but I dislike you less than I did. The truth is that I am doing this for Robert and Rupert as well. Robert was not at either George or Nancy's weddings. He deserves to see one child happily married. As far as Rupert is concerned, I realized that he appears to be just as strange as you are."
"Thanks," Buffy said flatly.
"I was under the impression that you enjoyed bluntness in conversations," Grace replied easily.
"You know, let's just not go any farther down this road. I don't really feel like fighting about this right now. Especially when Giles is in the kitchen eavesdropping."
"I'm not eavesdropping. It isn't my fault that my living room happens to be so close to the kitchen," Giles' voice floated out from the afore mentioned area.
"It doesn't bother you that I can hear you as well?" Robert asked from Giles' desk.
"Nope, only Giles. The rest of you, umm, Giles-es can be uncomfortable," Buffy said glibly.
"And that, of course, in no way made the conversation awkward," Giles said as he came out with a fresh pot of tea.
Buffy smiled sweetly at him and grabbed a cookie off of the tray he had set on the table earlier.
Giles ignored her and looked at the photo album. "You brought the family pictures?"
"Well, this was supposed to be a reunion, Rupert. I thought it might be nice to have it with. I suppose I thought that some of us might like to reminisce about the past," Grace replied as she handed the book to her son.
"So, is there a picture of little Rupert in there?" Buffy asked as she tried to peek in the book while it passed in front of her.
"Yes, and before you ask, you cannot see it," Giles replied.
Buffy pouted. "But I want to see it."
"No," Giles replied without even looking up.
"Rupert, I daresay that isn't a very nice way to treat your fiancée. No wonder you fight so often," Robert admonished.
"You should listen to your Dad. He's an expert after all," Buffy spoke quickly and then cringed, "That came out a bit too Coredlia-ish didn't it?"
"Entirely," Giles sighed as he handed over the book.
Grace helpfully pointed out the picture and Buffy stared at it. She looked over at Giles and then back at the picture.
"Don't say anything. I beg it of you, I'm quite certain you don't have a tweed joke left that I haven't heard anyway."
"But, but you're like two, and you're sitting with a handkerchief and a book," Buffy said in awe.
"Rupert has always been rather buttoned up, so to speak," Grace said with something almost akin to fondness in her voice.
"I'm not two. I'm one and a half, and if you tell Xander about this, I'll tell Anya that you want to sleep with him."
"Rupert! Surely you wouldn't spread such lies about your betrothed!" Grace sounded shocked.
Buffy grinned, "Yeah. I'm totally mortified and discomforted, you should make it up to me with flowers, jewelry and much kissage. Oh, and more cookies."
Giles dutifully grabbed the now empty plate and trudged to the kitchen. He returned shortly with more cookies.
"Buffy, don't you have to go home and do whatever it is that takes women hours to do before they go out?" He said when he saw that his mother had helped Buffy find the rest of his childhood pictures.
"I thought you liked having me here," Buffy tried to sound offended. It would have worked if not for the fact that she was grinning at the amount of blackmail material she now had.
A desperate look came over Giles' face, and Buffy took pity on him. "Fine, I'll go. Walk me to the door?"
Relief flooded his face, and he nodded at her request. They went to the door and Buffy grabbed his hand and pulled him outside with her.
"I need a goodbye kiss," she explained.
He smiled and put a quick peck on her lips. She frowned at him.
"The sort of kiss you are going to ask for is much more conducive for saying 'hello' rather than 'goodbye,'" he said before she opened her mouth.
"Spoilsport."
"For not giving you what you want or trying to get rid of you in the first place?"
"Both."
"Well it can't be helped. A man should never leave his girlfriend around his mother when they are feeling friendly and childhood remembrances are close at hand," he paused for a second."Why are you getting along with her?"
"I don't know. I think it's that love thing where you like the guy's relatives because you're in this haze. Then, you get married and realize that your mother-in-law hates you. It's the way of the world."
Giles chuckled softly and smiled at her, "I love the way you make me laugh."
"Is that some sort of accidentally spoken sentence, or has Mr. Repressed suddenly found himself in touch with his inner woman?"
"Not at all, I just thought that you might enjoy the compliment."
"Well, it is a step up from 'Good job stabbing that vampire.'"
"I'm quite certain I never said that."
"You're right. You probably said that exact same thing with really big words and much glasses polishing."
"Is it healthy to have a relationship where we insult each other so much?"
"You mean a relationship where I insult you, and you make witty sarcastic comments back? I think it adds spice to life. Besides, you like wordplay. All those wordy words just waiting to get rolled off of my tongue," Buffy grinned cheekily to punctuate her sentence.
"I think you had better be on your way before I find something more productive to do with your tongue."
"Promises, promises," Buffy said as she turned and sashayed away. She just made it out of sight before breaking into a run. Giles was right. She did need to get home and make sure she was properly primped for that night.
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Robert smiled as he watched Grace emerge from the bathroom later that night. The two of them had decided to change downstairs to allow their son the luxury of using his own dresser to get ready.
"You look magnificent," he whispered.
"Thank you, dear," Grace smiled.
"You know, I would never have thought that Rupert would be so forgiving," Robert mentioned casually.
"I don't understand," Grace replied.
"Things haven't gone well with Rupert, but today I don't think I've ever seen him happier than when you were just talking with Buffy. It was almost like he just swept the entirety of his problems with us into a little corner and forgot about them."
Grace nodded. "I'm a bit amazed at how that girl completely turns his life around. She is the one thing that doesn't seem to fit, but the one thing he can't live without. I would never have thought that quiet, book loving Rupert would fall in love with a girl like that."
At that moment, Giles came bounding down the stairs in his jeans with his leather jacket tossed over his shoulders. "Mum, have you seen a small wooden box with a knife carved on the top of it?"
Grace stared at her son for a moment before responding, "Yes, I believe that you put it on your desk when you unpacked your luggage."
Giles nodded his thanks and moved over to the desk. He found the box after moving a couple of books and flipped open the lid. He pulled out a small flask and stuck it in his pocket. Then he moved a few things around until he produced a small gold hoop. He quickly stuck it into his ear.
"Well then, I suppose we should be going if we don't wish to be late. I'll bring the car around."
Grace looked at Robert. "When did he get an earring?"
Robert shifted uncomfortably. "Let's just say that he had a bit of a period where the only book he looked at was a telephone book."
"Oh, dear," Grace said as they walked towards the door.
"You don't know the half of it," Robert mumbled.
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George smiled proudly as the guests arrived. He had rented out a small meeting room at the hotel where they were staying. He had specially arranged for his boys to sit next to those nice young girls that Rupert seemed to know. How they managed to like his brother and the tart he was dating was beyond George, but they were very pretty, and his sons needed a pleasant distraction.
Arlene sat regally in her chair. She had specifically made certain that the food would be much better than what that Joyce woman had served. It irked her that Nancy had taken such a liking to Buffy's mother when her sister-in-law had taken ages to warm up to her.
Willow and Tara were the first ones to arrive and had quietly sequestered themselves in their seats. They seemed such good friends with each other, and were very quiet and mannerly. Arlene quite approved of them.
Joyce arrived next with Nancy and Iris and her brat of a daughter, Buffy. Arlene could not have cared less, except for the fact that Buffy's arrival kept Willow and Tara's attention away from her boys.
Xander and Anya arrived next. Arlene was very perplexed by that couple. Normally a woman elbowed her boyfriend in order to get him to behave. It appeared that young Mr. Harris was desperately trying to keep Anya from talking to anyone, especially George.
Finally, Robert and Grace walked in. Arleneput on a smile and rose to meet them.
"I'm glad you made it," she said pleasantly.
"Yes, so are we. We got caught behind a funeral procession. Rupert left us off at the door and went to park his car," Robert explained.
"He didn't have the valet park it?" George asked.
"Giles doesn't like other people handling his tramp," Buffy supplied from the place she had moved to so she could greet Giles when he came in.
Arlene's eyebrow's rose to her hairline. George coughed slightly. "I beg your pardon?"
"Giles. Does. Not. Like. Other. People. Driving. His. Car," Buffy enunciated slowly.
"Of course I don't. Heaven only knows what would happen to it if I let you drive it," Giles said as he came in.
Buffy's face lit up in her famous smile. "I like a man who takes orders," she said as she appreciated his outfit.
"Really? Now I finally know what you saw in young Finn then," Giles said as he grabbed her hand.
Buffy smiled some more and forgot for a moment that there was a room full of relatives and friends watching them. It just seemed natural to give Giles a kiss hello to make up for the one he did not give her to say good bye.
Joyce watched in horrified fascination. She leaned over to Xander. "Are you sure they're just pretending?"
"I'm going to take a rain check on that question as this whole visual is getting placed in the 'Not gonna think about it' area of my brain."
"Wow, do you think they're using their tongues?" Anya asked in a much less horrified and more fascinated way.
"W..Willow said that they were acting funny in town today. Maybe they're under a spell," Tara whispered quietly.
"I've got to find out what spell," Anya said. She turned around to look at the faces of the others. "After Willow undoes it, of course," she tried to amend.
Buffy's eyes flew open as she realized what it was that she was doing in front of her previously clueless family.
"Heh, sorry I got a little carried away," she mumbled as she slipped back to her seat.
Dinner was served promptly and they ate in silence. Giles' family was mostly shocked at his public display of affection. So was Buffy's family for that matter.
Iris finally worked up the courage to talk to Tara, "So you believe in spells?" she whispered quietly.
"What? Spells? No spells here, only good clean American fun," Willow tried desperately to lie for Giles' sake.
"Oh, well I heard you mention a spell earlier. When Uncle Rupert was kissing Buffy," Iris explained.
Tara blushed, "That, that was more of a, a… "
"A euphemism for Viagra or, you know, other sexually enhancing drugs," Willow tried to help her girlfriend out, "Because there is no such thing as magic or demons or fairy tale creatures that come to life and try to kill you."
The quiet clattering of knives and forks stopped. The only sound that could be heard was the strangled noise coming from Giles that was either laughter or a plea for the earth to swallow him whole.
Anya glared at Xander, "And you said that you didn't want me to make a scene."
George was beginning to rethink his opinion of the redhead.
"Oh, demons," Buffy said suddenly.
"Buffy, I don't think that this is the time to have this discussion," Giles said quietly.
Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "No," she pointed her hand at the doorway, "Demons."
Standing there were the group of demons that Buffy had fought the night she had realized she was in love with Giles.
"Oh, dear Lord," Grace muttered.
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